Lame Duck Madness is not just a DC affliction. The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports that soon-to-be-former Senate Democrat leader (both in the leadership role and as Senator after being defeated for re-election) Russ Decker wants to approve budget-busting state employee union contracts soon-to-be-former (because he knew he would be beat like a drum) Governor Jim “Craps” Doyle (AFSCME/HoChunk-For Sale) is rushing to complete before he slinks back off to northern Wisconsin (or more likely, slides into a lobbyist office just off the Capitol grounds). For his part, soon-to-be-former Assembly Speaker (again, both in a leadership role and as an Assemblyman after being defeated for re-election) Mike Sheridan was silent on the matter.
At least 4 of the Democrats on the Committee of Assembly Organization (Sheridan, soon-to-be-ex-Assemblyman (after giving up his seat for a failed run at lieutenant governor) Tom Nelson, Assemblywoman Donna Seidel, and Assemblymen Tony Staskunas and Peter Barca) would need to go along with the Democrats on the Committee of Senate Organization (Decker, Fred Risser, and David Hansen, with the latter 2 up for re-election in 2012) to even call the Legislature back into session, assuming Doyle doesn’t do it himself after completing rushed negotiations.
Guess Doyle and Decker don’t think the biggest shift in Wisconsin politics in my lifetime should have consequences other than torpedoes launched from their sinking ship at the rest of the state that rejected them.
The “press” reports only that the wage/salary numbers are “no-increase.”
Guess we’ll have to wait until the special session to find out what Doyle wants to give his pals in exchange.